Folkestone do enough to stay League Leaders.

by Steve Hughes
Earlier in the week, the bush telegraph revealed that the Gills were preparing a raid on Folkestone RFC to gain the scalp of the League leaders and they certainly got near in a closely fought match.
Folkestone opened the half against a seriously strong wind but still had the majority of the territorial advantage and the visitors rarely got out of their own half.
Anchorians had the heavier pack but this did not trouble Folkestone who at times shoved them off the ball and occasionally snatched one against the head.
However, in opening phases Folkestone gave away two penalties in three minutes to take the opposition into the home 22 area. Then another penalty in front of the posts was slotted to give the Gills a 3 point lead.
Both sides were determined to play open rugby and with Seyhan Fell joining in the home three quarter line from full back it required desperate tackling to stop the home side from scoring early on. Jordan Godden and Adam Tolman were again working in unison, spreading the ball wide via John Eustace and Jon Morton and only solid cover defence kept Ben Brooks and Richard Dagger at bay.
Folkestone got close to opening their score when their interpassing earned them a ruck under the Gills post, but another penalty against them relieved the pressure. Folkestone were not getting the bounce of the ball or the better of fifty/fifty decision and were struggling to get into their stride. However from virtually the same position they won a ruck and Jordan Godden fed John Eustace who flung a long bouncing pass out to Ben Brooks on the wing who collected and scored in the corner. No conversion. 5 - 3.
Kevin Murray and Michael Gardner were clearing the ball off the top of the line enabling several forward drives which heartened the large crowd.
The Gills then fought their way down into the Folkestone half (only the second time in 30 minutes) succeeded in winning a line out on the 5 metre line and drove Folkestone over the try line to score an unconverted try 5 - 8. They were full of confidence then and found an overlap on the left where the only defender left was Jordan Godden who put in a magnificent tackle to save a certain try. Half time score 5 - 8.
The second half started in brilliant sunshine and the wind had dropped somewhat - a perfect day to play and watch a rugby match. Richie Bowen replaced Ben Brooks who was injured.
Seyhan Fell burst down the right wing and chipped ahead for Richard Dagger to collect. An inside pass to Adam Tolman looked certain to add another score for Folkestone but the referee adjudged the last pass to be ever so slightly forward.
Adam Tolman, Seyhan Fell and Richard Dagger were prominent in all the attacking moves and Scott Stewart, John Eustace, Alex Randall and Jordan Godden were in the thick of the tackling. Tom Carvill came on for Dave Baxter and the front row of Moose Murray, Jack Cox and Mat Roots were in the vanguard of the forward drives. 25 minutes to go and still the score remained at 5 - 8 and the spectators were getting restless, waiting to see the flood gates open and a rush of scoring as in previous matches. This match however was a different scene with Anchorians putting on the pressure through their forwards and Folkestone trying to run the ball as often as possible. At last, the crowd were able to draw breathe when Jordan Godden took a quick tap penalty ten metres from the Gills line and dance through the crowd of players to score and watch Seyhan Fell convert. 12 - 8 The visitors struck back almost immediately with a well struck penalty against the wind to close the lead to only on point 12 -11.
Seyhan Fell then came into the Folkestone attack to send Richie Bowen on a run to the corner. When he was dragged down, Seyhan Fell and Adam Tolman helped clear out the opposition and as the ball came back Adam Tolman flicked it with his foot for Jon Morton to make a finger tip catch and dive over. No conversion 17 -11 and a little more breathing space.
Captain 'Moose' Murray was then yellow carded for (he says) trying to separate two players handbagging each other.....
Gills continued with their driving mauls which were not pretty to watch but were certainly effective. Tom Carvill then rescued the ball to see the ball go along the line to Richard Dagger who could not get through the defence so grubbered the ball alone the touch line to see it bounce and touch the corner flag before he caught it to score. Many believed that as the ball had touched the corner flag it was no try but apparently the rules were in Richard Dagger’s favour.
With only five minutes to go the score appeared to look as if Folkestone were safe but to be fair to Gillingham they never gave up and a simple mis-tackle by Folkestone let a try in under the posts to see the conversion bring the score to 22 - 18. A try now by the Gills and Folkestone would suffer their first defeat of the season. Darren Malloy and his coaching team breathed a combined sigh of relief when the final whistle went.
Jordan Godden, Seyhan Fell and Richard Dagger again were visually active and Mat Roots, Tom Carvill and Kevin Murray were strong in the rucks and mauls but my Man of the Match award goes to Scott Stewart for the tireless tackling, scavenging and general all round action he displayed throughout the game.
Team: A S Fell; R Dagger, J Eustace, J Morton, B Brooks; A Tolman, J Godden; M Murray (Capt.), J Cox, > Roots; S Stewart, K Murray; D Baxter, A Randall, M Gardner. Subs: T Carvill, W Blandford, R Bowen.
Scorers: B Brooks 5, J Godden 5, Fell 2, J Morton 5, R Dagger 5.